Police were last night considering the theory that two people found dead in a house were killed when a strangulation sex game went wrong.

Postmortems revealed that Sobia Hussain, 25, and Alan Murphy, 60, both died as a result of asphyxiation and officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary said: "Initial investigations show she had marks on her neck consistent with being strangled with some kind of ligature and he was found with a ligature around his neck in another part of the house."

The bodies of the pair, who knew each other, were found at a house in Nelson, Lancs, on Wednesday.

Officers broke down the back door after arriving in a convoy of police cars and vans, along with an ambulance. Forensics officers conducted a fingertip search of the property and made door-to-door inquiries.

One neighbour said she believed the occupant of the house lived there with his mother until a few months ago when the pensioner died.

She added: "He was a bit of a loner, but pleasant enough.

"He always said 'Hello', but you never saw him talking to neighbours and I don't think he had a job. He never really got into a conversation with you. It's a bit of a shock."